Hysteria
by The Alien from Uranus
Summary: Ryuzaki and Haga have been the best of friends for quite a while. But when one develops the wrong kind of feelings the other, their world is turned upside down. Slash warning. Changed title because the old one sucked.
1. Rainy Nights

A blinding flash struck somewhere in the distance, followed by a gentle roll of thunder. Rain fell softly on the window, a slight pitter-patter sounding throughout the otherwise quiet bedroom. Within, two boys sat on a full-sized bed, playing a card game by candle light. With the recent blackout from the storm, they had been forced to abandon their usual electronic forms of entertainment. Ah, but card games were what they both liked the best anyway, right?

Haga adjusted his glasses and laid down a three, four, and five of the same suit next to several similar groupings of cards. He smirked and finished his turn by placing the last card in his hand next to the face-down deck.

"Rummy! I win again."

Ryuzaki wrinkled his nose. "I bet you cheated."

"Nuh-uh! Check my cards."

"Whatever." He stretched out and began gathering up the cards. "Crazy Eights?"

Then, a brisk knock sounded from his door, momentarily startling the two.

"Yeah?" Ryuzaki groaned as he righted at the cards in his deck.

A clack-creak later, preceded by the beam from her flashlight, Mrs. Kaseki shuffled in and tossed a stuffed brontosaurus to her son.

Her eyes gleaming with mirth, she chuckled, "Dino's eye surgery is a success."

Admiring the shiny new button on his green plushy, Ryuzaki gave her a childishly innocent thank you. Snickering lightly behind his hand, Haga couldn't help finding the mother-son exchange amusing.

Mrs. Kaseki smiled warmly. "Fairing well, boys?"

"Yeah, Mom," Ryuzaki grudgingly replied, and shot a brief glare at Haga.

"Sure you don't need a flashlight?"

"No, Mom."

"Have you done your homework yet?"

"No, Mom." He began reshuffling the deck.

"Well, get on it as soon this game's over."

"Okay, Mom."

"You're a big boy now, so I'm going to trust you to do it without me having to come back up here, all right?"

"Okay, Mom."

"I mean it." She put a hand on her hip and shook her finger at him. "I'd better not catch you bringing home another bad mark."

"Yes, I get it. Geeze."

His mother nodded, convinced, and headed for the door. As soon she was out of the room, Haga let out the laughter he'd been repressing.

"Mama's boy!"

His disgruntled friend blushed. "Lick my balls, asswipe," he retorted and chucked at pillow at Haga.

"Hold on, let me get my microscope," the blue-haired boy teased and flung his own at Ryuzaki.

For the next ten minutes or so, feathers, cards, and insults littered the air as the two waged a pillow fight of epic proportions. For them, if it wasn't a Duel Monsters match or some other game-related challenge, it was a battle of wits. Often one-sided, but a battle nonetheless.

Perhaps it should also be noted that the two shared what most would call a unique sort of bond. Acquaintances turned rivals turned cohorts turned friends, they eventually became inseparable. Drawn together by their love of dueling and eventual downfalls thereof, the duo complemented each other like an Apis ceranis and its honey. Or so Haga might have put it. Regardless of the analogy, Haga and Ryuzaki were quite the pair.

They just didn't know it yet.

--

Author's Notes: So far this drabble is just a premise. A plotline (and slash) will develop soon. Ryuzaki's and Haga's family names are not canon, so don't go shitting your pants over it.


	2. Typical School Day

Morning peeked brightly through the windows at the slumbering duo. Ryuzaki snuggled Dino into his chest, a slight glow about him from the new day's light. The slightly younger of the two had his limbs dangling off the other side of the bed, placing him far enough away to avoid physical contact with the other.

For the most part, Haga had spent his evening in a variety of interesting positions, the most notable of which had him nose-to-nose with his best friend for a good half of the night. Sadly, neither would ever know. And even if they had, neither would ever tell the other. As it were, every friendship had its boundaries.

"Son of a _bitch_!"

A sudden thud jostled Ryuzaki from his sleep.

"Haga, what the hell are you doing?" he mumbled.

"Your stupid bed's not big enough."

"Mrrg… just scoot closer. And go back to sleep."

The insector rubbed his sore bottom and glanced at the clock on his friend's nightstand.

"Shit! Wake up, 'Zaki!"

The other teen pulled the covers over his head in protest. Haga immediately tore them from his grip and pulled them off the bed. Ryuzaki shivered and balled up in response to the sudden cold air around him.

"We've got twenty minutes 'til class starts. Get up!"

Ryuzaki groaned. "Oh, hellfire." Sighing, he released his hold on Dino and forced himself to sit up.

Haga had already begun to dress. "Have you seen my shoes?" he asked, digging around in a pile of clothes at the foot of the other teen's bed.

"I think you left 'em downstairs."

Haga scampered off with a panicked expression.

"Oh, what's the big damn deal, anyway?" Ryuzaki thought aloud.

He rolled out of bed with a groan and stretched. Dreading the day ahead of him, he removed his pajamas and dug around in his enormous pile of clothes. Uniform shirt. Uniform pants. His favorite hat. No uniform jacket. He groped around under his bed.

_'Ah, here it is…'_ Feeling the familiar texture of its fabric, he pulled it from under the bed, shook it out, and slipped it on. Then, he noticed that the sleeves were a little long and the chest was a little tight. _'Dammit, Haga!'_

He stomped down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Haga, what're you—"

"Granola bar?" The blue-haired teen took a bite of his. "And your mom left you a note on the counter."

The dinosaur master sighed and accepted the breakfast offering. Then, he picked up the note.

_Ryuzaki, _

_I'll be working late today. There's a casserole in the fridge for you and Tokage. Please wash the dishes after school. _

_Love you, _

_Mother _

"Oh, and I couldn't find my shoes, so I grabbed your old ones. Hope you don't mind."

Ryuzaki raised his eyebrows. "They're not too big?"

"Eh, whatever. We're gonna be late."

--------

Ten minutes later, they burst through the doors of their high school and sprinted to their respective lockers. Most of the other students had already gone into the classrooms, so there were few obstacles in their way.

"Boys, slow down!"

Haga stopped dead in his tracks, while Ryuzaki had already made it to the end of the hall. Blushing slightly, he gave her a quick bow.

"Good morning, Ms. Mizuno!"

"Good morning to you, too, Haga. Please don't run in the hallways."

"Yes, ma'am."

The young, bright-eyed teacher giggled. "And please call me Ms. Ami. You're making me feel old."

Haga blushed an even deeper red. "Forgive me… Ms. Ami."

"Stay out of trouble, now, and I'll see you in chemistry."

He continued, walking briskly, to his locker and retrieved the books that he needed for his first class. He stole one more glance back at his teacher and nearly melted. For a moment, he imagined her running scantly clad through a field of tulips, cherry blossoms flitting by from God knows where.

But he wasn't the only student in Orange Star High that fancied her. Ami Mizuno was the youngest teacher in the school's history, having completed her university studies in only two years. Any student in her class would agree that she was as kind and pretty as she was smart, and rumor had it that the twenty-year-old was already working on her doctorate in chemistry. How she did it, they could only wonder.

--------

"The next section of chapter four is on interactions between different types of reagents." Ms. Ami began writing a simple chemical equation on the board and rattled on about acid-base neutralization.

Ryuzaki slipped a note to the desk behind him.

"And now, I'll give you all a demonstration. First, I'll pour fifty milliliters of point four molar acid into this beaker."

Haga scribbled his response and passed it back.

"Observe as the reagents give off heat." Ms. Mizuno smiled and carefully handed the beaker to a student in the first row. "Please pass it to the left so that the others may feel. Careful now! Notice how the pink color of the indicator tells that the reaction is complete."

Stopping in mid-sentence, Ryuzaki accepted the beaker from the girl next to him and felt the bottom of it. He lightly sniffed the solution, decided it stank, and passed it on to the next student. As Ms. Mizuno continued her lecture, he finished what he was writing and discretely handed the note back to Haga. The blue-haired boy stifled a giggle and began scribbling madly.

"Gentlemen, would you _please _pay attention!"

Both boys looked up sheepishly.

"This is all going to be on your final exam." She turned back to the board. "So, you'll notice that the equationhere is unbalanced." She then proceeded to solve it, carefully explaining each step as she did so.

Haga leaned forward and whispered to his companion, "You gettin' any of this?"

"Something about ionic bonds and soap, I think."

After a quick swipe of the board, Ms. Mizuno continued with a new set of numbers and symbols. "Now who can tell me the name of this ion?" she asked, pointing at a jumble of letters and subscripts. The class was then completely silenced. "What? No one?" She scanned the sea of faces before her. "Mr. Underwood, you look rather confident."

_"Shit,"_ said boy muttered under his breath. "Uh, er… no, that's um… oxalate?"

"Very good. Now, who can tell me what a combustion reaction yields?"

Suddenly, the bell chimed, and the once silent mass of students began a symphony of rattling papers, closing books, and murmuring amongst themselves.

"Well, I guess that's all the time we have for today. Have a great weekend, students, and I'll see you all on Monday!"

Ryuzaki gathered his books and looked inquisitively at Haga. "How the hell did you know that?"

The latter shrugged. "Lucky guess?"

"I hate you."

--------

Author's Notes: Some of you may or may not have noticed a couple references to some other fandoms. For those of you who didn't know: Ms. Ami is Sailor Mercury from the Sailor Moon series. I could have made up a random teacher, yeah, but it's more fun to borrow other characters. Since I'm already doing it. And. the name of the school is from Dragonball Z, from when Gohan finally goes to a public school. And if you're wondering who the hell Tokage is... Well, Ryuzaki seems like the brotherly type to me, so why not give him an annoying little sister? Her name (correct me if I'm wrong) means 'lizard.' She probably won't be much of a plot point, though.

_Damn_, this is the longest Author's Note I've ever written! Anyway, hope you're enjoying the story so far.


	3. Geeks, Freaks, and Squeaks

The black-haired Tarkatan glared coldly from behind her mask and crouched into a defensive stance, anxiously awaiting her opponent's first move. He, too, had taken to an ancient Saurian fighting stance and bared his claws with anticipation.

_Round Two!_

_Fight!_

The green-clad ninja immediately spit a mouthful of acid at her, but the sly Tarkatan slipped through the floor just in time and landed a solid kick to his face from above. Stunned by her initial attack, he could do nothing to stop the barrage of purple fists and feet impacting all over his body. Finally, he managed to block one of her punches and jump to the other side of the battle arena. Just as he prepared another acid spit attack, she somersaulted over his head and stabbed him in the back with her sais. A cold feeling crept upon him. He knew this was the end.

_Finish him!_

The purple ninja tugged down her mask and opened her fang-filled mouth, swallowing an unfortunate Reptile whole and regurgitating his dismembered skeleton.

_Mileena wins!_

_Flawless victory!_

The words flashed across the screen mockingly.

"No fucking way!"

The short, navy-haired girl on the other side of the arcade game merely chuckled. "I thought you said you knew how to play this game."

Haga crossed his arms and smirked at a very peeved Ryuzaki. "Major. Ownage."

"Shut up!" He slipped another token into the machine. "I demand a rematch!"

--------

Minutes later, Haga stared in disbelief at the rough piece of notebook paper in his hand. "I can't believe that girl actually gave you her number." He handed it back with a smile. "What was her name again? Izumo?"

"Izumi. And she gave me her _screen name_ and _IP address_. There's a difference." Ryuzaki shoved the paper in his back pocket. "I seriously doubt she was looking for a date."

"You should look her up and ask."

Ryuzaki glared in response as they rounded the corner.

"What?" Haga gave him a slight nudge. "She's the first girl that's actually talked to you since—"

"_I know_. You don't have to remind me."

"So what the hell's your problem?"

Upon finally reaching the bus stop they were looking for, the two halted, and Ryuzaki continued to ignore Haga's question. After a few minutes of silence, he checked his watch. Tokage was late again. Rather than feeling angry about it, though, his thoughts were miles away.

What_was_ his problem? Izumi wasn't overly obnoxious or ugly, and she seemed to love games as much as he did—almost to the point of being an otaku. For her, online contact information may _have_ been the equivalent of a phone number. Imagining what it might be like… well, he couldn't, really. Perhaps that was it. She just wasn't his type.

But did he really even have a type? Sure, he found girls like Mai attractive, but who didn't? And when was the last time he fancied a girl, anyway? He seriously pondered it for a moment. There were pretty girls at school, he thought, not that any of them would actually talk to him. Excluding his mom and his sister, most of Ryuzaki's recent company had been male.

Okay, so it had just been Haga.

But that's not the point. He needed some female company for a change, so perhaps…

"Hey, I think I see your sister."

No, Izumi would probably make a better friend. He could learn to like MMO games. Maybe they'd be able hang out after school sometimes, too. Having another friend around couldn't hurt.

"Is that a clarinet case in her hand?"

And if she really _was_ an otaku, maybe she'd know how to play Duel Monsters. Who knew? She can't have heard of him, though, he figured since she didn't make any snide remarks about his humiliating losses. It was a step in the right direction.

"Please don't tell me she's going to play that thing when we get to your house."

"She's not what I'm looking for."

Haga looked befuddled. "Er… what?"

"The girl from the arcade. She's not what I want."

'_Well, why the hell not?_' he wanted to ask, but the teal-haired boy settled for a different question: "So, what exactly _do_ you want?"

"I dunno." Ryuzaki's eyes glazed over for a moment, as though he were lost in a dream. "I guess I'll figure it out whenever I find the right one."

"Oh, you're hopeless! You wouldn't know a great opportunity if it hit you in the face."

Before they could get into a snippy argument, however, Tokage reached the end of the crosswalk and skipped merrily up to the two. She tugged lightly on her brother's sleeve.

"Hey, guess what _I_ learned today!"

Ryuzaki groaned. "Do I have to?"

"New recital music!" She flashed a sheet of paper with numerous lines and dots before his eyes.

"Oh, goody…"

--------

Considering her playing experience, a seasoned musician might say that she was making considerable progress. Haga, on the other hand, could only his gnash teeth at every reedy squeak and off-key note that resounded from within her bedroom.

"Somebody kill it. _Please_." Ryuzaki looked just as miserable.

Haga laid down his cards and stood from the couch. "I'll go talk to her."

The brunette rolled his eyes as if he already knew the outcome. He shook his head as Haga left the room.

After a few knocks, Tokage opened her door. "_What?_" she spat crossly.

"Can you turn it down a notch?" He looked at her hopefully and slapped on a huge fake smile.

The twelve-year-old remained firm in her resolve. "But I have to play this in front of _people_ in two weeks!" Another harsh glare and she rewetted the reed in her mouth.

"But..."

"You wouldn't want me to disappointment them, would you?"

"Okay, fine. Whatever." He returned to the couch in a huff.

Ryuzaki, having heard most of the exchange, gave him a disappointed frown. "You give up way too easily." He winced as the squeaking resumed.

"Some things you just can't argue with. Maybe she'll improve."

"You're just not trying hard enough. Allow me."

--------

'_Stupid C sharp…'_

She began the scale, reaching the top once more with a certain degree of success. Switching over to her assigned music, Tokage tried the phrase that had been bothering her again. Again, the bottom note cracked.

She jumped at the sound of someone pounding on her door.

"Hey, now! I'm practicing here!"

"Well, could you try sucking a little less?" came the muffled reply. "We have a guest in the house."

"Who,_Haga_? He's here all the time!" she whined in return.

"Don't you have some nice, _quieter_ homework to do?"

--------

Hours seemed to pass as the squeaking and off-key phrases persisted. Our dynamic duo then decided to take their cards outside. The game, however, failed to resume.

"Ice cream?" asked Ryuzaki.

Haga looked back at the house warily. "Should we really be leaving her all alone?"

"Pfft, the brat can take care of herself. Mom won't be home for at least another hour."

That said, he continued down the street with Haga hesitantly following.

--------

Now, a lot could be said about the relationship between Ryuzaki and Tokage. Being four years apart was just enough age difference to keep them from having the same peers; yet, they were just close enough retain an ongoing rivalry. While Ryuzaki usually kept the house in order when their mother was away, Tokage was going through a rather difficult phase. One that often involved temper tantrums and shrieking. Therefore, he took every possible opportunity to get away from her. Reasoning with an obnoxious pubescent girl was like explaining quantum physics to a brick.

As far as Haga was concerned, the girl was nothing more than a mere annoyance that came along with Ryuzaki. And he often spoke of her as such. But he could, nonetheless, stand her presence for however long was needed. There were also times when she came in handy, though they were few and far between.

"Eh… this flavor isn't really all that great." Haga frowned at his ice cream.

Ryuzaki looked over expectantly and casually opened his hand.

"Wait, you wanna…?"

The other cocked an eyebrow and nodded.

"Weirdo."

Haga had gotten used to the majority of Ryuzaki's quirks, most of which clashed with every cultural taboo known to Japan, but sharing ice cream was something he could never wrap his mind around. It didn't happen often, but every time caught him off-guard. He cringed inwardly and handed Ryuzaki the cone.

"No need in wasting it, right?" The dinosaur master grinned. "It's not like you've got any deadly diseases."

"You're so disgusting."

He slowly rolled his tongue over the cold, creamy goodness and sucked in a little through his lips, purposely making eye contact.

Haga made a face that clearly conveyed his lack of want. "Why the hell am I _friends_ with you?"

Ryuzaki dipped a little further into the cone, accidentally getting a little smudge on his nose. Without a second thought, he extended his tongue and effortlessly licked it off. "Because I'm just that awesome?"

"Hold on."

"What?"

"Do that again."

"Oh, you mean this?" He stuck out his tongue and edged the tip dangerously close to entering one of his nostrils.

Haga felt torn between gawking at how absolutely nasty the display was and imagining what someone with a tongue that long might be able to do. "You're like a fucking lizard or something…"

"Yeah, that's what they tell me." Giggling slightly, Ryuzaki flicked his tongue out again and slurped up some more ice cream.

"Next time? We're getting cake instead."


End file.
